Published in 1996, Star Ocean was perhaps the pinnacle
of achievement for the Super-Famicom system. Shamefully never
released in the United States, this game was stranded across the Pacific,
and to date has not been released in America, despite Star Ocean: The
Second Story's success here. Always intrigued by the story of Claude
and his father Ronixis, I felt compelled to play Star Ocean-- and it does
not disappoint.

While requiring a fair amount of time for "leveling
up," the battle system makes combat a cinch for regular enemies. Each
character has its own AI (except for Ratix, whom you always are), and the group has battle formations. Combat occurs
"arena" style a-la Secret of Mana (or exactly like Star Ocean: The
Second Story for those of you who have played it). You have four members
of your team, all of whom have either magic or "killer moves" to use
in battle in addition to regular attacks. Both the magic and killer moves
are identical to the ones found in Star Ocean: The Second Story, except that the
killer moves are not quite as easy to use. The AI for the other characters
tends not to be too bright, as the characters will often use elemental spells
and killer moves which wind up healing the enemy. Furthermore, the
fighters tend not to attack any enemy that you, Ratix, are attacking-- even if
you are getting beaten fairly badly. This makes boss fights fairly
challenging (unless he takes up the whole screen). All of that being said,
this is easily the most advanced combat system ever developed for a Super-Famicom/Nintendo
game-- one that is even better when they adapted it to the PlayStation for Star
Ocean: The Second Story.

Star Ocean uses a Private Action system in towns that
allows your characters to separate and develop relationships with each other,
allowing for over 40 possible endings. The menus are easy to use, items
are clearly described, and the chests in dungeons will give you the best armor
in the game. What really allows this game to shine, however, is the
complex item creation system. No other Super Famicom/Nintendo game sports
such a robust creation system. Character can customize weapons to create
the best weapons in the game, or they can cook items together to form a
"better" healing item etc. The system also allows for the
creation of accessories, which yield a variety of items. What makes this
system a headache to use though is the lack of even constant success with
certain skills. Your "Customize" skill may be maxed out and you
have all of the requisite "talents" (which are gained through working
with the item creation system, in addition to having a character start with
them), but you will still find yourself unable to forge the item you want in
less than 200 tries. Combine this with the fact that some ores and
minerals are extremely rare (3 in the game and cannot be copied) and you have a
very vexing few hours on your hands. As for character interaction, they do
interact well but I was extremely disappointed at the quality of the Private
Actions scenes, but perhaps that is due to my being spoiled playing Star Ocean:
The Second Story. Ronixis is the main reason I undertook playing this
game, and I wish that a little more was done with his character. He is
slightly unused until about 3/4ths of the way through, when he becomes a
major player once more. The other characters are fairly plain, but serve
their purpose. Again, I can't help but feel spoiled by SO: TSS and the
unique personalities they gave to all of the possible characters in it.

A hot time in the multiverse tonight!

The music was very well done for such an older system,
but I do feel that it pales in comparison to the magnificent scores of Chrono
Trigger and even Final Fantasy VI (3 in the US). The voices used in battle
were OK but not anything to write home about. The music to Star Oceans
sequel, SO: TSS is head and shoulders above its predecessor's.

Star Ocean is one of the most unique games ever made for
the Super Famicom/Nintendo system. Its battle system and item creation
system were unique at the time and the plot was really well done until the very
end.

The plot started very well, but became weaker as things
progressed. I cannot elaborate on this as it would spoil crucial parts of
the game, but there is a very large leap made from one bit of knowledge to
another that is never really covered-- a declaration is simply made by one of
the characters despite the player having no real idea of what he just
said. The final part of the game leaves a lot to be desired, but a serious
part of my problems with the game's plot could be due to a loss of ideas and
meaning in the translation.

Mad Skillz!!

In the end, the game really isn't worth being replayed
unless you are a hard-core fan. Unlike its sequel, Star Ocean just
lacks that general grab that makes you want to reset after having beaten
the final boss and start all over again. While being a beautiful
game, perhaps the best cartridge game made for the time, its bosses all
looked a little funny (none of them compare with the brilliant work in
Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger).

Star Ocean was not incredibly difficult, although certain bosses were
challenging. I found myself more tried by regular enemies in
dungeons than I did by the boss at the end most of the time. Because
of this, the game only took about 30 hours to complete, but once I went
through the "secret" dungeons and worked with the item creation
system, that time went up to about 50 hours.

Final Verdict: Play this game if you can. It gives Star Ocean:
The Second Story and additional breadth and depth, especially from
Claude's point of view. You get to know Ronixis and his friends, and
understand the mantle that Claude is forced to bear, following in the
footsteps of his father. If you have not played Star Ocean: The Second Story, this game will still be fun, but ultimately will leave
you with a slight sense of disappointment at the end.